Off Topic: That Was the Year It Was - 2017

It's not only a Sunday, but it's the last day (Sunday or otherwise) of the year. This is my last off television topic photo post of the year. Television fans should make note that The Amazing Race season premiere will air this coming Wednesday, January 3, at 8pm ET/PT. I will be posting about the cast before the premiere and, of course, live blogging the show and hosting the blog party as it airs.

So ... to the off television topic stuff. Between really feeling horrible and the bitter cold this past week, I don't think I took any photos at all. That's a first in years. What I did do for this week's post is go through photos I've taken during 2017 and pick out my personal favorites, one for each month. Then I threw random photos I took of Vincent the Cat just because he's such a big part of my life.

To be honest, I won't be sorry to see 2017 go away. Between the political landscape disharmony, my increasing dissatisfaction with my workplace, declining health and more ... it's not been a good year for me. For years I had planned to retire this year. Health insurance costs, not a benefit for retirees in my company, have made that impossible. Maybe in 2018 I'll have some way to get out of the rat race. 

I even had more problems on the blog this year than in the past. I was about ready to throw the towel in on it with the Big Brother blogging this past summer. I find it ridiculous that people get so hung up on the show that they feel the need to turn their vitriol on "fans" of cast members they don't like. Sheesh. Not only was there controversy, but BB used to be my summer cash cow. I once got paid good freelancing money to cover the shows and live feeds. Neither the ads revenue nor the donations make the work I put into it worth the headaches I had this past year with it.

I am grateful for the friends I have, the roof over my head, enough money to live on without worrying that there will be more bills left than month to pay them in. I've certainly gone through worse financial years in my life. I've also gone through worse personal loss times in my life -- flashing back on decades (scores) of years ago when I lost my parents five months apart. So, it hasn't been a good year for me ... but, in many ways, it hasn't been the worst year of my life, either.

I hope 2018 is a better year for everyone!

January

My train home arrives in Bridgewater as the snow comes down. I must have left early that day because it was still daylight! I probably headed out early due to the snow.

February

Historic train wheels captured in a sculpture at the Somerville Train Station.

March

After snow cover went and before new snow cover arrived, this is a shot of the main building at the Plainfield Train Station.

April

A hawk on the stadium lights at the TD Bank Ball Park in Bridgewater. He seemed to be watching the game.

May

The coolest looking potato beetle (or false potato beetle, not sure which) posed for me at the Bridgewater Train Station.

June

Making eye to eyes contact with a starling.

July

I took so many photos of the Plainfield 4th of July Parade that it was hard to pick just one. So, I picked none. Instead, I went for this photo I took of one of the painted utility boxes in Plainfield. This one is at the corner of Watchung Avenue and East 4th Street.

August

Gull on a lamp post on North Avenue in Plainfield.

September

The marigolds in planters at my workplace were fun and colorful to photograph.

October

Yep, like birds, the trains and train stations are repeating photo fodder for me. This was taken as the sun was setting at the Bridgewater Train Station.

November

What year would be complete without a moon shot from me? This one is the Full Beaver Moon.

December

The great escape from the rat (pigeon) race. I envy that bird.

And then there's Vincent ...
He isn't always sleeping, mind you. But it's easiest to photograph him when he is! 

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 7, 2017

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. If you're here for Survivor -- you can find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here.  You can find any posts I make about TAR at this link -- The Amazing Race.

Another week in the life down. We've gone into a chilly time weather-wise as well as plenty of rain. One day (Thursday) we had nearly three inches of rain! I know that come August we'll be praying for rain. But, sheesh. Enough already. The saying is APRIL showers, not MAY downpours!

I thought it was storming late one night when my apartment building actually shook. I mistook it for thunder. Nope. Just Trump's entourage flying extremely low heading to Bedminster. His golf course is in the next county over, not all that far from my workplace. I know he'll never show up in Plainfield!

Last night when I got home from work, I noticed the yellow caution tapes were lining Watchung Avenue in anticipation of today's New Jersey State Bicycle Championship Race today in downtown Plainfield. If I felt better, I'd go take some photos of the action. This is the second year in a row that we've had the privilege of hosting the race. (And the second year I've missed it.) The weather is a bit chilly and skies are overcast but not really expecting rain. I'd say it's probably perfect weather for it. 

Some of the hall kids have already started again -- not really the ones from the overcrowded apartment in my hallway. I've got some names now -- Brian and Kevin from the third floor, Nigel from the first floor -- and will be calling the landlord's office tomorrow. Last night they were running back and forth (and back and forth) for almost two hours in the third floor hallway. You can hear that all the way down on the first floor when they run back and forth (and back and forth). Plus, when I came home from work one day I caught the three of them with a POGO STICK on the first floor! A pogo stick! That is SO not an indoor toy! I sent them outside with that. I notice that whatever parent(s) had to pay for the broken security glass in the back first floor door to the staircase must have paid for it. There's new glass.

I have just a three day work week ahead of me (yay!). It's not all fun and games, though. On Friday I have to go to the vascular surgeon for the first phase of healing my out of control varicose veins. I don't care about pretty. My legs are too scarred up from knee replacements and more to be "pretty." I just want to feel better! It's more of a treatment than a surgery, per se. I'll be getting Varithena foam shot into my great saphenous vein on my lower right leg. It will fill the vein, then collapse it. It sounds a lot easier to deal with than the old-fashioned vein stripping remedy! I'll be bandaged and wearing a thigh-high compression stocking for 48 hours afterward. I don't know if I'll be able to bend the leg much, but I guess I'll find out. I do have a three day weekend next weekend. So, if I feel okay, I might do something other than nap it away.

Onto this week's photos ... clicking on an image will open it in a larger format. 

I said DON'T ruffle my feathers!

See! See! This is what happens! A starling at the Plainfield Train Station.

The prettiest time of the year

Okay ... autumn is very pretty with its brilliant foliage. Winter is pretty when the world is white and quiet. Summer, not so much as things around here tend to dry out and lawns turn brown, especially in the late summer. But spring is a renewal -- flowers are blossoming and the array of greens is amazing to behold. Yes, it wreaks havoc with my sinuses, but I still love the spring sneezes aside.

Uniquely marked pigeon in Plainfield

All pigeons do not look alike! This pigeon hangs out on North Avenue in the vicinity of the Plainfield Train Station.

Coral-colored azaleas

As seen on Berckman Street in Plainfield

Here I am, but the action is behind me!

As I waited for my train home in Bridgewater last night, a baseball game was in full swing at the adjacent TD Bank Ball Park (home of the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball). Although sunset hadn't hit yet, all of the stadium lights were lit and ready for the dark. I saw a big hawk fly over me and didn't get my camera out in time to catch him in flight. But I saw where he landed -- right on one of the stadium lights stanchions! You'd think he'd be looking for prey and would shun the cheers, music and other noise at the ball park. Nope. He eventually went to the top of the lights and appeared to be watching the game in progress. Now, the crowds there for games usually measure in the thousands and, unless he plans to grab the ball, I can't see why a Red Tailed Hawk would watch the game. He is probably trying to figure out humans, I guess. (More on the hawk after the jump!)

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS** 

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 9, 2017

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, this is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I took along the way. If you're here for Survivor -- you can find any Survivor posts I make at this link right here.  You can find any posts I make about TAR at this link -- The Amazing Race.

We had another week of cold and flooding rains. (Yet the drought advisory hasn't been taken down.) Yesterday we actually saw the sun! However, the temperatures were chilly and the wind chill almost required a winter coat. Today is supposed to be leading off a warmer temperature trend. Supposedly, Tuesday's highs might be in the 80s. Now, I don't really want that. I just want low 70s -- I want SPRING, not summer or winter! Sheesh.

My week has been a bit of the doldrums. It seems like I've worked and came home, rinse, repeat. That said, I think I'll just move on to the photos I took this past week -- clicking on an image will open a larger version in a gallery format.

A rainbow over Plainfield

After a horribly cold and stormy day, the sun came out on Thursday creating a beautiful rainbow over the city of Plainfield. I took this shot from inside a car driving on West Front Street headed into town with sun at our backs. No, I wasn't driving.

Whazzat?

It's a hawk

I'm not sure what kind of hawk as it has its feather spread out on its tail. It had been rainy -- he (she?) was probably drying them that way. Red-Tailed Hawks are the most common around here. But, if it has its red tail, it's hiding it under those spread feathers. 

When I got off the train in Bridgewater one day, I spotted a large bird atop the stadium lights at the TD Bank Ball Park in Bridgewater. I was hoping it was a small eagle. They are around but tend to stay closer to the Raritan River.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 27, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. This is a regular Sunday part of this blog in addition to the television posts. Right now I'm covering Big Brother: Over the Top daily -- you can find those posts at this link. I'm also live blogging Survivor episodes as they air on Wednesday evenings. Come join the blog parties!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! As per my usual, I spent the day here with Vincent. I don't really have much family left and, of what few are left, no one is local. I often turn down invites to join families of friends for the day. I would feel like an intruder and, after all, it's not my family. After decades of such, I've grown to like the peaceful solitude of the day. I made a turkey breast feast for myself and relaxed. I always have to work the Friday and Saturday after the holiday, so I can't travel anywhere. I'm also in a very busy and stressful work environment, even worse at the holidays. So, I'm content with what I do for the holiday. Maybe, if I ever do get to retire before I pass, I'll travel to visit family. But for now and many decades gone by, as they say, it is what it is. Christmas is pretty much the same.

So, this isn't really my favorite time of the year. I do enjoy seeing the excitement of children, especially toddlers, seeing the hubbub and lights. I do have some very good memories of the season. But it's all photographs and memories at this time for myself. And, work, work, work, then more work.

I am thankful for the friends and family I have in my life, as well as you folks who faithfully follow this blog! I'm certainly thankful for Vincent, as well as my previous cat companions over the years. I'm thankful I've always held a job and kept a roof over my head even though I'm so ready, beyond ready, to retire and pursue things I want to do rather than things I have to do. I'm thankful for Peapod Grocery delivery so I don't have to deal with supermarket madness. I'm thankful I live in an area with so many different kinds of people with lives so different from my own, yet enriching my own life and enforcing the realization that the majority of people are good at heart.

Okay, onto this week's photos! I didn't really get great shots this week. I managed to arrive near the train station one day just in time to snag a few photos of another (the same?) Red-Tailed Hawk atop the Chotola Apartments Building on North Avenue just as he was preparing to fly away. 
 

Sitting in the railway station ...

... got a ticket for my destination. Whoowoo. ('Homeward Bound' - Paul Simon) I was actually homeward bound. This is last night when I arrived back home in Plainfield after yet another workday in life. Although the train itself stretches perhaps a long block, only about ten people got on or off at this time at the Plainfield Station. However, inside the train -- the two cars that were open -- it was quite full for a train this day and hour. Many people were heading home to NYC from the holiday or just heading into town (Manhattan) for holiday season happenings. I just wanted to get home and put my feet up.

Where'd they all go?

Y'know ... there was a party going on with pigeons and starlings here. I come and they all flew away! Do I have bad breath? Am I inappropriately dressed for the party? Every time I try to join in on the bird fun, everybody leaves me here alone! I feel shunned! It's enough to give me a complex! 

Getting ready to swoop away.

At least I got nice detail on that red tail of his!

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 20, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. This is a regular Sunday part of this blog in addition to the television posts. Right now I'm covering Big Brother: Over the Top daily -- you can find those posts at this link. I'm also live blogging Survivor episodes as they air on Wednesday evenings. Come join the blog parties!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be upon us in just a few days! Around here, we've had more warm days than cold so far. Of course, Thanksgiving is early this year, so there's that. I wouldn't mind temperatures in the 50s all through the winter season, though! But it's already changed. They don't expect temperatures to get out of the forties starting today and remaining for the rest of the week. They predicted snow not far north of here and flurries for here overnight leading into today. I saw no flurries.

With the exception of a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting atop the Chotola Apartment Building on North Avenue (across from the Plainfield Train Station) one morning as I headed to work, it wasn't a great photo week. But I certainly took advantage of the hawk sighting! One of the best things about digital photography is the ability to shoot and shoot ... and shoot. I think I took a total of about fifty shots of him before he flew away!

I found out that the Trader Joe's in Westfield will be reopening in about two weeks. I'm SO looking forward to that! I'm still going through Trader Joe's withdrawal pains since their roof collapsed in a blizzard last January. I have a Peapod grocery order set for Wednesday. But, since it's the day before Thanksgiving, I doubt all items will be in stock. I just know I'll be way busy at work from Friday on, have to work weird hours Monday and Tuesday ... Wednesday is my only day to get groceries other than today. I don't want to go out there today! After making the mistake of going into a food store the day before Thanksgiving in the past, I also refuse to madhouse once again. I figure if Peapod is out of the turkey breast I ordered, they will have the Porterhouse steak and I'll have a good meal on the holiday no matter what.  

Today I'm making up a big batch of beef stew in my crock pot. That will last me through Wednesday for my main meals. When you're me and live with a cat, you don't mind living off of leftovers for three days! I only cook things I like because I have no one to please with my cooking but myself. Often I'll make a big dish on a day off to have for a few days so I don't have to cook on workdays. When you only have one day off at a time and no "weekend" to speak of, it makes life easier. 

Anyway ... onto the photos. Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.
  

Artsy Red-Tailed Hawk

I edited this shot to highlight the hawk. Deadly to some, yet a magnificent bit of nature.

Morning moon and the hawk

I was so happy to see the hawk sit in place for so long! It's hard to capture them in flight.

The original Hawkeye

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - February 9, 2013

Yes, it's Sunday and I'm returning with my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. I want to thank folks for the condolences and prayers expressed in the past week. They meant a lot to me in a really bad time. Thank you.

A few notes:

• Today marks 50 years since The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan. It's scary that I remember watching that. I'm not that old! I remember saying they'd never be as big as Elvis. Later, I decided Paul was the cute Beatle.
• My bank finally sent me a new card after my account was compromised with the Target store hack. Good. I was tired of watching my online account a dozen times a day!
• My sciatica has improved a great deal. I'm still having some problems standing for any period of time and sitting for long periods. Oh, well. It's definitely better than it was!

Since I'm really photo-heavy this week, I don't have a heck of a lot to say at the start here. Might as well get on with it ...

Icicles at the Plainfield Train Station

I took this shot last night at the train station. At night, when it's as cold as it was, they present no danger. They're not going anywhere. But in the daytime sun even if the temperatures are below freezing ... danger, Will Robinson!

Chubby spring robin

I've seen four robins hanging around my workplace in Bridgewater. While they normally are ground feeders looking for worms and such, they're here way too early. They're subsiding on the berries in the planters. None of the other birds in the area this time of year -- seagulls, crows, sparrows -- have any interest in the berries.

Stunning beauty

But so will be spring blossoms! C'mon, winter, give us a break! Yes, we're due for more snow later today. Wah. Outside my window on Tuesday.

Hawk alert!

Bridgewater, NJ.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 24, 2013

It's Sunday morning and, guess what? It's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. Later on tonight, I'll post the blog party for The Amazing Race. If you watch the show, c'mon by!

It turned cold this past week. I fear that's here to stay for a while. This year I'll face it in a new winter coat with the best hood ever. While I'm a firm believer in layering and usually tend to layer with a hoodie ... forget that hoodie hood! This one is down, fluffy and warm. It was more than I usually spend on a winter coat which I mainly use to go back and forth to work. But I had the last coat for the past three seasons or so. So, if this one lasts as well as that one did, it will be worth it! (No, I'm not talking thousands of dollars. But I do tend to jackets and coats under $100. This was more than that.)

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us this week. I know they're going on about it being the latest possible day for that holiday, but it still seems like I blinked my eyes and it's here. Perhaps our bouts of warm weather confused my mind; I don't know. It just all of a sudden is looming at me. It will be a four-day work week for me, something that's always welcome. I hope everyone has a nice holiday and a safe one if you're out on the roads.

Hmm ... I don't really have much to say about this past week. I guess I'll get on to the photos --

Hawk in flight

The late day sun was at a perfect angle to photograph this hawk. I only wish I had a closer shot. Over the Plainfield Police Station.

Dawn's reflection

After a dismal walk to the train station, the sunrise was trying to do its stuff on Monday morning. Bridgewater, NJ.

What's this?

I went in late to work on Tuesday and came across a huge amount of fire apparatus for what apparently was a rather small fire in the Chotola apartment building on North Avenue in Plainfield. The fire was on the first floor rear of the building isolated to one apartment. One resident of the fourth floor was treated on the scene for smoke inhalation.

Responding companies: Plainfield Police and Fire Departments, Scotch Plains, North Plainfield, South Plainfield, Westfield, Union County OEM, Haz-Mat and EMS. Oh my. By the next day, I saw the taxi place on the first floor open for business and the residents were back in. Well, except perhaps for the one apartment where the fire was contained. More photos to follow ...

***CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***